2014 Award Winners for Innovation & Excellence

The Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships (CCPPP) is proud to announce the 2014 recipients of the National Awards for Innovation and Excellence in Public-Private Partnerships (P3s), including the C.W. Chuck Wills Award that recognizes outstanding achievement in the municipal sector. Case studies of selected winners are available in the bookstore.

"The Council's Awards Program has become increasingly competitive, which really speaks volumes about the calibre of the projects selected," stated Mark Romoff, President and CEO of CCPPP. This year's award winners will be bringing Canadians safe, clean drinking water; improving wastewater management; developing clean, reliable sources of energy; improved transportation routes; modern, consolidated judicial services; and cutting-edge health care facilities that are focused on the patients. These projects are delivered to the highest quality standards, while providing substantial savings and efficiencies over traditional procurement methods.

"With 219 P3 projects across the country delivering consistent strong results, Canada is solidifying its record as best in class," added Mr. Romoff.

The awards will be presented on November 3rd at The Council's annual conference. The industry's premier P3 event runs November 3rd and 4th and attracts government and industry leaders from across Canada and around the world.

Gold Award Winners

BC Hydro's John Hart Generating Station Replacement Project (Project Financing) – Construction of this $1.093 billion project began in March 2014 to replace the 67-year-old John Hart generating station to deal with earthquake preparedness, reliability and environmental issues. The annual generation capacity increases from supplying about 74,000 homes to about 80,000 homes. Financing for this project is a unique combination of funding with a sole equity provider and debt financing made up of a short-term loan and 19-year bond from the private sector in addition to the $700M from BC Hydro. An additional innovation is that this facility is being built completely underground and the property will better support the surrounding Elk Falls Provincial Park.

Elgin County Courthouse (Infrastructure Award) – The new courthouse marks the beginning of the next chapter in a 160-year tradition of justice administration in Elgin County by consolidating the Superior Court of Justice and the Ontario Court of Justice under one roof. The $249-million project included a beautiful restoration of the heritage courthouse, connecting it to the former Land Registry Office with a modern addition. The complex, designed to LEED Silver standards, includes state-of-the-art technology, security, energy efficiency, healthy indoor environments, enhanced interpretation facilities and barrier-free accessibility in its eight courtrooms and three conference rooms. This project came in a full 10% lower than the cost to deliver through traditional procurement methods, resulting in a savings of $27.1 million.

Silver Award Winners

North Island Hospitals Project (Infrastructure Sustainability Award) – The Comox Valley Hospital and the Campbell River Hospital are now under construction in response to rising demand for health services on north and mid-Vancouver Island. The LEED Gold standard facility is the first time a green bond has been used to fund a public-private partnership project in North America and the first time a green bond has been issued to finance public infrastructure in Canada. The 32.3-year bond raised $231.5 million, and was oversubscribed by investors, setting an impressive benchmark for future investments in green infrastructure in the province.

South Fraser Perimeter Road (Infrastructure Award) – This innovatively designed and financed highway in Metro Vancouver was part of the Pacific Gateway Program to improve the movement of people and goods through the region. It featured an exemplary level of openness and transparency: approximately 5,000 local residents and stakeholders participated in the extensive consultation process to ensure that the project reflected community, economic, agricultural and environmental values. The project is expected to achieve $34 million in savings for taxpayers, leading to 7,000 long-term jobs in the municipalities of Delta and Surrey as well as 4,000 jobs during the construction period. The first segment of the road opened to traffic in December 2012 and the second segment in December 2013. The total project cost was $1.26 billion, cost-shared between the Province of B.C. and the Government of Canada.

Award of Merit

Evan Thomas Water & Wastewater Treatment (Infrastructure) – Alberta Infrastructure decided to procure the Evan Thomas Water and Wastewater Facilities Upgrade Project because of a growing population and increased tourism in the Kananaskis Country, more stringent environmental standards and the availability of newer, more effective technology. The new water treatment facilities and two new reservoirs will deliver high-quality drinking water to residents, businesses and tourists in the Evan Thomas Recreational Area. The total cost of the 12-year contract is $59.6 million, saving a projected $2.4 million compared to a traditional approach and transferring key construction and operation risks to the private sector.

C.W. Chuck Wills Award

City of Regina Wastewater – The City of Regina needed to upgrade its wastewater treatment plant to meet the needs of a fast-growing population, replace aging infrastructure and meet higher wastewater effluent quality standards. After a rigorous evaluation process, City Council unanimously approved a public-private partnership, which was then ratified in a public referendum. The total project cost provides an estimated savings of $138.1 million versus the traditional procurement model. The new facility will also improve energy efficiency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve the quality of the water in Wascana Creek and the Qu’Appelle River and Lake system.

2014 P3 Champion

The Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships (CCPPP) is proud to announce that the late Honourable James (Jim) Michael Flaherty has been posthumously named the P3 Champion for 2014. CCPPP salutes Jim Flaherty’s tremendous career of contributions to infrastructure development and renewal in Canada, and to the advancement of a best-in-class Canadian public-private partnership (P3) model.

“It is hard to overstate the importance of Jim Flaherty’s role in addressing Canada’s infrastructure deficit,” said Dale Richmond, Chair of CCPPP’s Board. “He was a visionary who recognized that private sector skills and innovation can help governments to build better quality infrastructure, while saving money for Canadian taxpayers.” MORE INFO